Data sources

An application uses a data source to access the data from the database.

A data source is associated with a JDBC provider that supplies the specific JDBC driver implementation class. The data source represents the J2EE Connector Architecture (JCA) connection factory for the relational resource adapter.

You can create multiple data sources associated with the same JDBC provider. Each JDBC provider supports the interfaces defined by Sun Microsystems listed below. These interfaces enable the application to run in a single-phase or two-phase transaction protocol.

Previously, the function of data access was provided by a single connection manager (CM) architecture. This connection manager architecture remains available to support J2EE 1.2 applications, but a new connection manager architecture is provided, based on the JCA architecture supporting the new J2EE 1.3 application style.

These two separate CM architectures are represented by two types of data sources. To choose the right data source, administrators must understand the nature of their applications, EJB modules, and enterprise beans.

Choice of data source


Related concepts
Resource adapter
JDBC providers
Related tasks
Accessing data from application clients
Creating and configuring a data source using the administrative console
Creating and configuring a JDBC provider using the administrative console
Creating and configuring a JDBC provider and data source using the Java Management Extensions API
Configuring data access for application clients using the Assembly Toolkit and ACRCT
Creating or changing a resource reference using the Assembly Toolkit
Assembling data access applications using the Assembly Toolkit
Deploying data access applications
Developing data access applications
Creating a JDBC provider on multiple nodes
Migrating a version 4.0 data access application to version 5.1
Creating and configuring a JDBC provider and data source